AKA The life and times of Madeline Anafrid

In this epsipode:

• some walking
• some bike riding
• some other stuff
• and a new Gaby chapter

The latter part of the week has been filled with weather and stuff, not so much sunshine about but reasonably warm, the damp restricted to some overnight precipitation. So Thursday i set out for a Mendip crossing, that lump of limestone providing the highest ground for some distance, which in turn means some hard work on a bike to cross the peninsular. I am of course not shy of hills, for most of my life the much higher peaks and roads of the southern Pennines have been my playground afterall, the difference is that Peak District climbs are generally less severe if somewhat longer, oh there are plenty of steep hills but to get onto the Mendip ridge there are no soft options.

And so i set out through the creases of North East Somerset to the main climb, the choice of the day being the ascent from Harptree through Upton, its only a couple of miles bottom to top. The average grade for the first mile is a little over 10% but there are ramps on the way of over 14%, no picnic especially with the wind in your face. Over the top i headed south to take the steep lane down into Wells, at least that's a free ride!

I was aiming for a cafe at Shipham but between Wells and food are several undulating miles to Cheddar and another steepish climb, the 2km of Shipham Hill. Its not as steep as Upton but it still ramps to over 10% and averages just shy of 8%, which, after @ 60km, is a fair test of fitness. After a ten minute effort i finally dropped to the cafe where eggs on toast and a cuppa revived tired limbs as i sat in the afternoon sun for a bit.

Revitalised and with a bit of a push from the south westerly, i made good time over the last 40km, keeping up a 30kph plus average back to the city, compensation for the earlier travails. 107km total, 1024m of up so quite tiring.

Friday, after the usual chores was a day for a walk - not a 'serious' walk but a bit further than the local shops. The choice from here is a bit limited in scope unless you are getting more serious, i elected to head to the top of the hill, essentially the top of Bristol from where you can see Wales, the Forest of Dean, Cotswolds and south into Somerset. Its all Urban of course, the only respite a walk through a bit of parkland reclaimed from a mining past. The advantage to going up is that the return is essentially down so i was at least not 'glowing' on my return after just shy of 6km walking.

Which brings us to Saturday. The forecast was a bit cooler, indeed it felt cooler when i set off be-jacketed and long sleeved for a sojourne northwards. It was soon evident that the forecast was wrong, the jacket was soon removed but i was stuck with the sleeves as the temperature reached towards the twenties. At least the morning route was quite benign along the only vaguely rolling eastern banks of the Severn, along the ship canal and across to my chosen stop in the Stroud Frome valley.

Food consumed the day was about to get a bit more vicious with a draggy climb up the Frome valley before the 10% climb up and out onto the Cotswold massif. Its only 160m ascent from the lunch stop13km away but 70m of that is in the last 2km, so a bit of a sting in the tail. From the top it was then a typical up and down ride to Tetbury before taking the lanes down to and through Badminton and the final 50 minutes back to the city. A bit less climbing than Thursday, only 834m but the 126km (thats a little shy of 80 miles) is the longest ride so far this month.

Today is quite bright, i'll be out for a walk this afternoon but nothing too strenuous!

Of course you do get another Gaby chapter, this week its Under Pressure, part 21 of Fame. Here's a spoiler alert - there is a roast dinner!

Anyway, thats it for today, i'll be back midweek with more musings and news.
Byee,
Madeline Anafrid